Final Fantasy Reishiki Gaiden: Hyouken no Shinigami
Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story, The Ice Reaper

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"You can deliver people to death, but you can't save them... You will never be anything more than a grim reaper."

When I played the game Final Fantasy Type-0, its premise (a world where people are erased from everyone's memories when they die) was something I was very excited to see get explored, particularly in the context of how it enables an eternal war. Alas, I found myself thoroughly disappointed in almost every way with the incredibly lackluster execution of its story (and characters).

So when I picked up the prequel manga Final Fantasy Type-0: Ice Reaper, I was shocked to discover that it was not only ... Good, but satisfied me in basically every way that the game's narrative didn't. It balances the tone of its serious war narrative with its school setting beautifully, with an endearing cast whose investment in+impact on the political drama keeps it from ever feeling dry (so many of the game cutscenes felt like watching a particularly boring history documentary to me lmao...).

Most importantly for me, that fantastic premise is explored thoroughly here, for interpersonal conflict and the mechanics of its plot. They do some cool (and heartbreaking) stuff with it.

TLDR; it's good enough to be enjoyed as a standalone narrative if the premise appeals to you, but it's an absolute must-read for anyone who's played Type-0 (and frankly, for anyone who plans on playing Type-0 in the future. like i genuinely think you should read it first.)

i only wrote this review because i saw there weren't any on the site, and i NEEDED there to be at least one person saying that this manga is good. so i'm saying that it's good, no matter how poorly i may get the idea across. i fear i may have talked it up too much...? like it's no masterpiece, but it's GOOD. okay im done now